


A Spellbound God

by TheRagLadyandherTARDIS



Series: A Spellbound God [1]
Category: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch, Runemarks Series - Joanne Harris, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fandom crossover, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Feels, Loki Needs a Hug, Main Character is a witch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2018-09-14 20:26:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9201056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRagLadyandherTARDIS/pseuds/TheRagLadyandherTARDIS
Summary: Isadora Cassia Edwards is an English witch and a very a good one. She lives in Chicago and works as a secretary by day but at night hunts down demons, trolls and ghosts and makes sure they can no longer harm people. She is fairly happy with this when Tony Stark contacts her, offering her a job with the Avengers as Loki's bodyguard.





	1. Everything Changes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a slightly weird cross over and I'm not sure if it works or not. Please tell me what you think! I've really enjoyed writing this chapter and can't wait to do more! The chapter title is taken from the title of episode one of Torchwood because it describes what happens to the main character perfectly. The magic is based off Runemarks, The Dresden Files and The Rivers of London books. I'll add more tags and characters as I write the story.

I woke up at five am and staggered out of bed blearily. My alarm was still ringing and I hit it, trying to make it stop. For several minutes, I couldn't find it. It wasn't on my bedside table, or on the floor. I stumbled around the small room searching for it before remembering I had put it on the other side of the room so I wouldn't press snooze and jump back into bed again. I hissed at it for putting me through such pain, then wondered how much trouble I'd be in if I was late for work. Too much, probably. So instead of getting back into my very warm and inviting bed, I had a cold shower to wake me up. The cold part wasn't intentional, it was because my powers meant heat, electricity or any form of technology manufactured after about 1940 went wrong when I touched it. Or stood anywhere near it. Anyway, nothing wrong with a cold shower. It was certainly bracing and it woke me up. I staggered out of the shower shivering and cast a tiny spell that dried my skin and hair. It also warmed me up a little bit. Another spell had the many candles around the apartment alive and dancing, giving me something to see with. I yawned hugely, then made a cup of instant coffee that I sipped while brushing my hair and pulling the clothes I had had the foresight to put out the night before. My coffee finished, I put food in a bowl for my cat, Byron, who would be out terrorising the local wildlife around now, then ate a cereal bar. Then I plaited and pinned my hair up, before studying my reflection in the mirror. I was short, maybe 5' at most, with honey blonde hair tinged with red and amber eyes. My skin was too pale in winter, smudged with cinnamon freckles. I had nice curves though and I wasn't unattractive, thanks to my mother's liaisons with certain creatures. Today I was wearing a light blue blouse and a black skirt. I pulled the matching jacket out of my wardrobe, slipped on a pair of heels, then grabbed my trench coat, hat and handbag and ran out the door. My watch read 6:10. This was quite a fast morning routine for me, sometimes I spent around an hour standing in the shower, wondering if work was really necessary. I mean, did I really need food? Unfortunately, yes always seemed to be the answer and I was in work by seven thirty.

This morning I was there by seven. I worked for a branch of the Stark Cooperation. My job was as a receptionist. With my issues with technology, this meant I wrote a lot, could type very fast before the computer broke and, as long as I didn't use any magic, could make phone calls with only small amounts of static. When I got to work, I discovered that I had a long list of emails. I took a very deep breath and began to work through them, forcing myself to be calm. My mantra of no magic near the computers, no magic near the computers appeared to work. After the emails were dealt with, I got to deal with the many customers, all of whom wanted to see Mr Stark and they all wanted to see him now. They didn't care that this was Chicago and Mr Stark was in New York or that he was very busy, oh no, they were much more important. Some really made me want to use magic. Just play with their minds a little bit and convince them that they had seen Mr Stark. The beheading I would have received from the White Council managed to curb this wish though. Midway through the day, around the time I would have been eating lunch if I had a lunch break, an irate wizard marched in. Surprisingly, he wasn't demanding to see Mr Stark. He was here to see my boss, Mr Cooper. "He'll be in soon, sir." I smiled at him, hoping to pacify him.  
"He is in a meeting at the moment." Unfortunately, the wizard peered at me very intensely.    
"Do I know you?" Oh god. I hoped he didn't remember me.  
"I doubt that, sir."  
"I'm sure I do. Drop dead gorgeous girl like you, with an English accent. I've seen you somewhere. What's your name?" A small part of me danced. Harry Dresden, the wizard, thought I was pretty? The rest of me really wanted him to shut up and sit down.  
"I'm really not allowed to give you my name, sir. Company policy." And he could do a lot with a name. A named thing is a tamed thing, that was one of the first things my mother had taught me.  
He merely snorted. "Fine! Tell Mr Cooper that Harry Dresden needs to see him urgently."  
I wrote the note down. There was no way I was doing anything that involved a computer with him there. Finally he left and I let out a sigh of relief. The next man in the queue was much easier to deal with.

I left the building at exactly four and the walked back to my apartment. My flat was in one of the cheaper parts of Chicago and wasn't exactly safe. However, I would have liked to meet anyone who could cross the wards around the door and walls without receiving a rather large shock. As for spirits and demons, I had ghost dust painted into the walls. The four rooms I owned were small but I liked them. Every wall had bookshelves that were overflowing with books. My fireplace normally housed a roaring fire that did an adequate job of keeping me warm. My floor was covered in random rugs, several of which my mother or I had made. The walls that you could see were painted a light green and the one sofa was an ancient thing I had found in a jumble sale that I had covered with a tartan blanket. I didn't have the money to buy one that didn't stick springs into you. However, for now it did fine.

My cat was curled up on my desk, which sat beside the window. It was covered in papers and notes, spells I needed to try and potions that had gone horribly wrong- or worked. I did the majority of my magic in the kitchen, but I used this place to write what I had done and how well it had worked. This was normally a good thing, as after I had done a potion, the kitchen normally smelt less than fragrant. I stroked Byron's inky head, then wondered what to make for dinner. The fridge was fairly bare. All I could find in the cupboard was a packet of instant noodles. I cooked them and moved through to the sitting room, telling Byron about my day as I did. "And then the tall bastard demands my name! I should have demanded his name, seen how he liked that! So, what fun job do I have tonight?" I looked through my notes. "Ah yes, how could I forget? There's that creature scaring all the local children down by the cemetery. Excellent." I finished by dinner then got changed into a red and yellow tartan shirt, a heavy jumper, a pair of black jeans and my trusty Doc Martens. My wands were hanging on my belt along with a set of throwing knives and a small bag of ghost dust. They would be hidden by my coat. Then all I had to do was tie my hair into a pony tail, put the coat on so it hid the weapons and I looked like any other girl wandering the streets of Chicago.

The night was cold and starry, frost painting the pavements a ghostly colour. I pulled my coat tighter around me and wished I had thought to wear my scarf. Heavy clouds loomed overhead, promising rain or snow in the next few hours. I really hoped I could get home before they opened and unleashed their fun on the streets. Around half an hour after leaving home, I was at the graveyard. The gate was hanging open. This was never a good sign. I pushed my way in slowly, listening to it creak shut behind me, then slowly walked through the tombstones. Soft singing came through the air, a lullaby that had drifted down through the centuries. I didn't listen, which in hindsight was not a good idea. Instead, I marched to the centre of the graveyard and called up a werelight. A werelight was one of the first spells I learnt, back when I was nine. It would be a clarion call to ghosts. Once again, this probably wasn't one of my best ideas. At the time, it seemed to be fine! Standing in a graveyard, summon up something ghosts- and other creatures- feed on, find the monster scaring the kids, kill it and scarper. Unfortunately, it didn't go to plan. Which isn't all that surprising.

"Lux impello" I whispered into the darkness. A pale globe of light appeared over my outstretched hand. It hung in the darkness and around me, I felt the dead rise. A surging mass of pale spirits, all lost. Underneath me, other things rose. Darker, deeper things. The singing came closer, although I didn't notice at the time. Instead, I was worrying about the ground beneath me as it began to buckle and shake. "Shit!" I yelped as I began slipping towards a hole that had appeared beneath the light. I really didn't want to discover where it went. I cancelled the light frantically and cast the runes Elhaz and Isa for protection and ice. The gap beneath me froze with alarming speed and I skidded and fell onto the grass, swearing all the while. The ice stretched in a perfect circle around me. I focused hard and used the remnants of Isa for a trance like state, locking myself into the circle and locking anything else out. This gave me a chance to think. How had they described the scary creature? Was it one of the things underneath the earth or one of the ghosts?

"She was a pretty lady but then changed and became horrible." I vaguely remembered one child saying.

The singing was still going on and I let out a stream of foul words before readying a series of spells that I could fire off quickly. I then broke the circle and ran out, feverishly casting each charm. A hollow boom sounded in the graveyard and I looked back, noticing the damage my spells had done. I had ripped up several trees and cracked a few graves. But the singing had stopped. Now, the same woman was screaming in anger. Clearly she had just become horrible. I pulled out my wand and whispered a cantrip that was supposed to ensure safety. I also cast the rune Thurisaz, hoping the thunderer would protect me. The creature I assumed had been singing came towards me. I couldn't really see her in the dull light, but I could see the spiral of darkness above her head that seemed to cut through everything.

Shoving down the fear that was rising within me, I pulled out the bag of ghost dust and threw it at her. It began to eat her up, chewing away at her remaining flesh. The hole of darkness slowly closed up and I sighed. Then ran. I did this because I am a sensible witch who doesn't want to be eaten by vengeful spirits or be taken in by the cops for questioning. On the way out, however, I made sure the gate was shut, locked and unable to be opened until after dawn. Then I began to trudge home, suddenly exhausted by the fight.

I didn't check the time until I got home. It was nearly midnight and I sighed. Another 5 hours of sleep to look forward to. When I stumbled into my apartment, Byron meowed at me, demanding food. I tipped some into his bowl, then set my alarm, laid some clothes out and fell into a very deep sleep.

I didn't really wake until midday the next day, when Mr Cooper appeared in front of my desk. "Isadora, could you come to my office please?"  
I nodded, hoping no one had filed a complaint about me yesterday. However, it was slightly worse than that. When I reached Mr Cooper's office, I saw three people I had hoped never to see together. Harry Dresden, wizard and mayhem causer (a little like me, I supposed), Karrin Murphy, law enforcer and Tony Stark, genius, millionaire and my boss' boss. They all looked up when I walked in, trying to force myself to wake up.  
"Miss Edwards, how nice to see you. Please, have a seat." Ms Murphy gave me a smile that did nothing to reassure me and pointed to a seat. "Now, would you have any idea about what happened in the cemetery last night?"    
I tried to look innocent as I sat down. "The cemetery? What happened?" How did they know it was me? Normally my spells fried all the CCTV cameras in a sixty mile radius.  
"A particularly hostile spirit was cornered and destroyed." Harry Dresden put in. I acted surprised.    
"Spirit, Mr Dresden? As in a ghost?"  
"Yes, one of those."  
They were all staring at me and I felt my hackles begin to rise. Rather unfortunately, for Mr Stark, there was a rather expensive laptop on the table. It went up in smoke, apparently taking quite a lot of research with it. I swallowed down the urge to bolt and shook my head.

  
"I have no idea what you can be talking about."  
"Really, Miss Edwards?" Tony Stark gave me a knowing smirk. "Or should I say Isadora Cassia Edwards? After a phone call from Ms Murphy here, I did some research on you last night. Born and raised in Kendall, England, you went to a string of boarding schools in England, being thrown out of each one, mainly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your mother, Augusta Noelle Edwards at this point sent you to a man called Thomas Nightingale in London, who I assume was your tutor. You lived with him for five years, then went to Edinburgh where you lived with Arthur Langtry for two years. Your father, who we can find nothing on, ran away almost immediately after impregnating your mother. We managed to narrow down a list of who your father could be. It's a fairly impressive list, I must say. One god, two faeries, one man who was supposed to have died several millennia ago and one river. I assume you know who it was?" He ploughed one without waiting for an answer. "Your favourite book as a child was Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell and your favourite subject was History, in which you excelled. You finished your degree in ancient history almost a year ago and you want to go on to do a masters in mythology. You are a witch, Miss Edwards, a very well trained one." I pretended to look bored.  
"I'll give you a clue about my father, it's not the god."  
Stark laughed. "Miss Edwards, I would like you to come and live in Stark Tower in New York. The Avengers could use someone with your talents."  
I snorted. "My talents? Which ones?"  
"Mainly the illusions, although the ability to set fire to things would come in handy."  
"And you aren't asking Mr Dresden because...?"  
"I have things to deal with here. Also, I would prefer it if you weren't destroying graveyards." He laughed quietly. "It was impressive though. And I knew I knew you from somewhere! The White Council, right? You were the Merlin's apprentice as well... Has he offered you a seat on the Senior Council yet."  
"He's not going to, in his words I'm too young, reckless, dangerous and not human enough. Why do you think it was me who did the graveyard?"  
"That knocks another father off our list." I heard Stark mutter.  
"Because my spirit tried to get into your house last night when I couldn't remember who you were. After failing, he followed you to the graveyard and watched the whole showdown. He's never been more impressed and told me and my brother all about it. My brother now really wants to meet you. I rang Karrin and told her.."  
"...And I contacted Mr Stark." Ms Murphy finished the sentence.  
I nodded, confused about several things, though I wasn't going to ask about them now. "I understand."  
"About the Avengers." Tony Stark continued. "We have another reason for wanting you to move in with us. You may have heard that New York had a little bit of trouble recently?"  
"You mean the aliens that destroyed everything? That little bit of trouble?"  
Stark laughed. "Er, yes, that. So the man who engineered part of it, Loki. He is now our prisoner as his father, Odin, your mother's friend, is in the Odinsleep and Heimdall, who is running Asgard in Odin's place does not have the power to keep him in check. Neither does Thor. Or any of them really. And we don't want to kill him, as he has a lot of information about the aliens that attacked. So we need you to come and restrain him."  
"You want me to restrain a god?"  
"Yes."  
"Sorry, sorry. You want me to restrain a god other gods cannot restrain."  
"Yes."  
I stared at him in disbelief. "And I'll be able to do it, how?"  
"You have a much wider range of powers than any single god. You can cast illusions as well as he can and have as much power as he does, if not more. Also, he asked for someone interesting and from all accounts, you're an avid reader with a good knowledge of history, you can talk about mythology and you are extremely intelligent. As well as a demon hunter and fighter of ghosts. It's hard to get much more interesting than you."  
"If I do move into Stark Tower, I want an apartment with five rooms, a bedroom, a bathroom- it will need a large bathtub, I spend a lot of time reading in the bath-a living room, a kitchen and a room which I can equip to do magic. Can you provide that?"  
"Easily. They will have to be connected to Loki's room's you understand?"  
I sighed. "I have a habit of setting up wards that electrocute those who try to break into my house. Will that bother Lord Nibs?"  
Stark shook his head. "I shouldn't think so, his brother deals with thunder after all."  
"Damnit. I'll have to ramp up the ones around the labs." I spoke half to myself before nodding. "Very well, I accept your proposal."  
Stark grinned. "Miss Edwards, that is excellent news. I will have people come and help you pack so you can come on Friday."  
"Don't call me Miss Edwards, Isa is fine." I suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Byron- my cat- I'll need to bring him."  
"Again, that's fine, Isa. And please, call me Tony." I nodded.  
"Okay. Can I leave work and go start packing now?"  
Stark nodded. I waved, slightly awkwardly, to Ms Murphy and Mr Dresden.  
"See you at the next council meeting, Isa." I gave him a grin that probably looked slightly crazy, but in my defence I'd had about three hours of sleep and had just been told I was going to guard a megalomaniac. Then I finally left the room and went home from work for the last time, wondering what on earth my new life would be like.                            


	2. Working with a god

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isa arrives at Stark Tower and meets the rests of the Avengers and Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm not a brilliant writer but I am really enjoying writing and thinking about this crossover. I hope you like this chapter :)

Within three days I had moved to Stark Tower and New York. My new set of rooms was much larger than my old apartment, with a brilliant view out the window and a wardrobe that had already been half filled with garments when I arrived. When I asked Tony about this, he had muttered something about Pepper and shopping. I'd just smiled and went back to my (very comfortable) bedroom. The one part of my rooms I disliked was the door that attached my sitting room/personal library to Loki's. For my first day in the tower, he was away, though I had no idea where. I tided my belongings away and made sure Byron was comfortable in such luxurious surroundings. He gave me a flick of the tail and resumed his bird watching.

The morning of my second day, Tony called me downstairs to meet the other Avengers, who had been away doing something when I arrived. It was a slightly awkward meeting. However, I made the best of it. And by made the best of it, I mean stood in the corner and fiddled with the hem of my jumper. My face was smudged with soot from a failed experiment and my glasses were slipping down my nose. The red haired woman, who I later learned to call Natasha, gave me a curious glance and the man with a quiver of arrows, who I later learnt to call Clint, asked Tony who I was. He called me forward. "This is Isa. She's the one I told you about. Isa, this is Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Thor Odinson, Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner." He pointed to each of them in turned and I nodded, remembering the information. Thor was the first to smile at me.   
"A pleasure to meet you, Isa!" He held his hand out and I shook it. "Good luck keeping my brother out of trouble!" I raised my eyebrow.   
"I'll certainly endeavour to turn his mind to more suitable quests than conquering planets and trying to force the people into submission. Tell me, what does he think of crochet?"   
Tony snorted from behind me, then continued with his small welcome spiel. "Isa destroyed a graveyard back in Chicago. She, as you may be able to tell, comes from England and has a degree in ancient history and a masters in mythology. She is also, from the few days I have known her, rather sarcastic and can destroy any electronic if she looses her concentration."   
"Why?" Natasha looked at me suspiciously and I shrugged.   
"Downside of being able to do magic, I guess."   
"Interesting." She gave me a brief smile, then turned away.   
"Isa, why don't you go back upstairs and finish unpacking?" Tony gestured me away.

When I reached the doorway to my room, I heard Bryon hissing. Wondering what was coming next, and having a strange feeling I knew what, I made my way into my room with trepidation. Staring at my cat was the most attractive man I had ever seen, tall and lean with raven black hair that reached his shoulders and eyes that hung somewhere between green and blue. His skin was flawless and so pale I wondered if he had ever seen daylight. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a green shirt that clung to his form and showed me every lean muscle. The only thing marring the perfection was the scars around his mouth, but they again suited him perfectly. My eyes wandered down to his trousers before I swallowed and pulled my eyes back to his face.   
"Who are you?" He gave me a sweeping glance before turning back to the cat.   
"I think I'm your new guard. You are Loki, yes?"   
He laughed. "They have sent you to be my new guard? Really? Are you sure they said guard?"  
"Yes." Heat sprung into my face at his mocking words and anger urged me to throw him across the room. I resisted.   
"Oh? And what can you do?" He smirked at me.

It was too good to miss. I smiled at him and murmured under my breath. The door slammed behind me and electricity crackled through my hair, fusing into my fingertips. A wind picked up in the room ruffling papers. Then the god flew across the room and slammed into back wall. I walked over slowly, still smiling at him, before offering my hand out to help him up.   
"Impressive, I suppose." He ignored my offer of a hand and jumped up. When he was standing, he was ridiculously tall, towering over me. "So you are a witch." I nodded, then turned away and began to toy with a cushion sitting on the edge of the sofa. “Are you a member of the White Council?” That got my attention. Normal people shouldn’t know about the White Council and gods with Loki’s power shouldn’t need to worry about it. So how did he…?  
“Yes.” I replied sharply. “Why is it any of your concern?”  
“I know the Merlin.” He replied carelessly, then walked out. I swallowed and sank onto the couch. What had I got myself into? A trickster god who knew the Merlin, probably me, probably my weaknesses and I was his guard?

Nah. I was sure I was just over thinking it. I really hoped so anyway.

* * *

 

With Loki out the way, I checked the notes I had been given to watch him. Basically I needed to make sure he didn’t escape and keep him occupied with things that didn’t involve forcing humanity into subjugation. In this aim I wandered into his room with my scrabble set later. He was sat in a large, throne like chair reading. I took the opportunity while he was engrossed in his book to study him once more, praying he wasn’t as attractive as he had been before. Oh no, he was. I sighed and sat opposite him.  
“What do you want?”  
“A game of scrabble?”  
“What?” He looked up with mistrust on his face.  
“It’s a Midgardian game.” I smiled hopefully. “Each person is given 7 letters and you put down a word and then your opponent has to put another word that links onto that one somehow.” He seemed bemused so I handed him the instruction booklet. Within moments he was nodding.  
“Yes, this seems like an enjoyable game. Do you have paper for keeping scores?”  
I pulled out a notebook. “Oh, one more thing,” I added, wondering how he would take it. “Neither of us are allowed to use illusions to see the other’s letters or to change the words on the board. Fair?”  
“Fair.”

Half an hour later, we were battling furiously. Loki had picked up the game quickly and I discovered knew a great number of words. I made a mental note to acquire and learn a scrabble dictionary.  
“So, what were you reading?” I nodded to the book that was sitting in the throne like chair.  
“The Kalevala.” He smirked, clearly waiting for me to ask what it was.  
“Oh, the Finnish myths. I prefer the Celtic ones if I’m honest, though the poetry throughout it is beautiful.” I laughed at his dumbstruck face.  
“You know what it is…?”  
“Yes. I studied mythology.”  
He looked interested and then, finally put down his word (which was sepulchre, how did he have the luck to put that down, even allowing for the letters on the board?) I noted down the obscene number of points he got for it and stared at my letters, desperately thinking of a word, any word.  
“So what are you reading at the moment?” The interested look in his eyes wasn’t gone and he stared at me intently.  
“Necropolis. It’s about the history of graves in London.”  
“Hmm.” A poisonous look was shot at me as I put down quiz. “May I borrow it once you have finished?”  
“If you insist.”

Another few minutes passed in silence before he spoke again. "By the way, what is your name? You haven't told me."  
I considered lying for a second, knowing how dangerous names are. But I had his and could probably block any spells he threw at me. "Isa."  
"Isa what?"  
"Just Isa." There was no way I was giving him my other names. I had no desire to be turned into a mindless slave.  

Three hours later we had moved away from scrabble and onto chess, which I discovered Loki was much better than me at. We had had an interesting discussion and I had discovered he could tell me far more about the nine realms than the Edda. A loud bell sounded throughout the tower, rattling my bones. I jumped.

“What in seven hells was that?”  
“Oh, the bell was to tell us dinner was ready. The Avengers have a fun game where they sit around a table and try to be civil to one and other. It makes interesting watching.”  
I let out a tiny laugh. Loki was much funnier than I had thought he would be.  
“Where is the dinner hall?”  
“Let me show you, my lady.” He bowed and I rolled by eyes before following him, curious as to what these dinners may be like.     


	3. Dinner with the Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isa eats with the Avengers and has a slight fight with Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's so short, I haven't had much time recently. I'll try and update faster next time and make the next chapter longer.

The room the Avengers ate dinner was amazing. The walls were glass and I could see for miles out of them, at least I could until night fell. Loki sat slightly apart from everyone else, watching with his strange eyes. Thor seemed ridiculously relaxed compared to his brother and joked with everyone. The others seemed tense and I could guess why. I was strange and new and they disliked me. Oh well. I couldn’t help that. 

Loki gestured for me to sit beside him, so rather awkwardly, I sat in the seat beside him. Natasha ignored him, but halfway through the meal leaned over and began talking to me.   
“How did you learn to do magic?” Her abrupt question surprised me into answering truthfully. I could feel Loki listening as I spoke.   
“My mother was a witch and my father was a...” I stopped myself just in time, remembering my father’s normal reaction to people finding out who he was. “He isn’t a human and had a lot of magic. Both of them passed it on to me and I managed to get chucked out of most of my schools, so my mother sent me to learn with a wizard in London. Then he sent me to learn with one in Edinburgh. That helped harness my skills and taught me how to do certain things.”   
“Such as?” Bruce interjected and I swallowed as I realised how many of the Avengers were listening to me. Including Loki, who I did not want to learn about the extent of my powers.   
“Well, the wizard in London taught me the basic building blocks of magic and Latin, French, Greek, Norse and German. I spoke Welsh anyway and my mother had taught me enough of other languages to get by when spells involved them. After three or so years when I had grasped the simple things, he began on the more complex sections of magic, especially combat magic. My next teacher, in Edinburgh, focused a lot on illusions and the more mental side of magic, though we spent some time doing combat magic as well.” 

Satisfied with my replies, the Avengers turned away and I had a chance to eat some of the food on my plate. Loki, however, was not done with me.   
“What were the wizard’s names?”   
“You really think I’d tell you?”   
“Well, at least give me their titles.”   
I rolled my eyes. “The one in Edinburgh was the Merlin.”   
He looked surprised. “You must be more powerful than I assumed if he took you on. Who was your father?”   
I bit my tongue to stop myself from answering as a horrible thought crept into my head. 

“Are you using a compulsion?” He grinned, a wicked, wicked smile.   
“You’re not just a pretty face then. Oh, I am glad they chose you to watch over me.”   
I slowly began building up a defence against him. I could sense the touch of his mind, a freezing burn that tried to persuade me to tell him about my father and my lineage. As my wall built up, I watched his face drop, the smirk changing to a scowl. The protection around my parent’s names was still intact, thank god. 

“Don’t try forcing me to do anything again.” I glared at him, one part of my mind telling me how attractive he was while the rest really wanted to maim him somehow. His eyes burned into mine and he only pulled them away when Thor from the other end of the table shouted his name. 

“What, brother?” He sounded fed up and I inwardly rejoiced.   
“Stop playing with Isadora, brother!” Thor smiled at me and I felt my insides drop.   
“Isadora? What an interesting name…” Loki turned to look at me and I shrugged.   
“Well, my mother loved posh names.”   
"Isadora." He looked as if he was trying to remember something. "i think I've met you before." 

Oh shit. This was not supposed to happen.  


	4. The Sound of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bonding (maybe) between Isa and Loki and a conversation with Isa's father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter isn't wonderful, but it was quite fun to write while I put off the work I should have been doing. Hopefully it'll build the suspense up for the next few chapters.

Of course, getting information out Loki was like getting blood out of a stone. He eventually left, a smirk still playing around his mouth. Angry, I followed soon after. Once in my room, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to talk to my dear father. Right. Yep. That was what to do. Shaking, mainly from nerves, I began to collected my things.  

A few moments later, I was ready. I had a glass bowl filled to the brim with water, which I placed in the last few rays of sunlight that danced on the floor. A silver knife sat beside it and I nicked my finger with it, letting the blood fall into the water. Then I took a deep breath and whispered my father's name three times. The water and blood swirled and cleared, showing me the dark and gloomy hall he inhabited.   
"Father?" I could see his shadow on the wall and he rose to face me, or where I appeared before him.   
"Daughter mine. You look well."   
"Thank you, I am."   
"Why don't you come through?" He gestured around him. "Plenty of room and we can talk about whatever it is you need to talk about."   
"I'm fine here, thanks." My father always set me shivering. Mainly because he was terrifying.   
"Suit yourself." He raised his eyebrow. "Now, pray, continue."  
"Do you have any link to Loki Laufeyson?"   
He smirked. "No, but I know his children well. You remember Hel, don't you?"   
Memories of a woman who had half her body rotting into nothing filled my mind. I shuddered. "Of course I remember Hel. And Fenris." Fenris, one of Loki's two sons was a werewolf who preferred the form wolf and spent his time terrorising and murdering. He always stank of rotten meat and really needed to see a dentist.   
"Oh and I know Ange, of course." Ange.. I guessed that was Angrbooa, the mother of Loki's more interesting children. I didn't want to think how father knew her.  
"Can you think how Loki might know me?"   
"Probably your mother, darling, she has dealings with far too many people. Ask her." He was growing bored, I could tell. He grew bored very easily.    
"I will. Thanks, dad." He raised an eyebrow. "I mean father." I hastily added.   
"Good. Goodnight, daughter. Give my love to Augusta."   
"I will. Goodnight."

He severed the connection and I turned, exhausted. A figure caught my eye, leaning against the door that connected our rooms. "So that's your father... The...."   
"Shut up, now." I snarled at him. He smirked.   
"They were pitiful wards, darling."   
The floor swayed under my feet and I struggled to stay upright. I'd overdone the magic. "Don't... don't..." I was going to tell him not to call me darling, but I couldn't seem to get the words out. My head was pounding and the floor looked very inviting. Panic flashed across his face...

...he moved across the room in a blur....

..I was falling...

* * *

 

I dreamt that I was in the Merlin's house and Loki was there. Somehow I was seventeen again, all awkward limbs and magic that flew out of my fingertips without warning. And Loki was ridiculously handsome, a god who could teach me so much. I was wandering around the house, when I came across his door. Nervously, I reach out and pushed against it, assuming it would be empty. It swung open to reveal him, standing there, wearing nothing but a towel. My face burned as I whispered his name, my eyes tracing each muscle I could see. I licked my lips as I stared. 

_Loki..._

"Talking about me in your sleep?" I woke to find him leaning over me, unfortunately wearing clothes. No, where did that thought come from? I wasn't attracted to him, no, no, no. Couldn't be.   
"It was a nightmare." I stared up at him, trying to work out where I was. The bed was covered in green silk, laced with gold. "Is this.... Am I in your bed?" I sat up, looking around the room. It was all dark wood and tapestries, with bookshelves overflowing with books.   
"Yes you are. Don't move." He disappeared out the door. I, of course, obeyed his command. For about two minutes. Then I wandered over to one of the bookshelves and began looking.

It was poetry, horribly organised. I pulled out a random book. Keats.   
"No, no! Go not to Lethe..." I quoted, remembering how mother had made me learn his odes before I went down to London. She said it would help with all the other learning I would need to do. Surprisingly enough, she had been right.   
"I thought I told you to stay still." I turned to see Loki standing there, looking rather cross. "You need to be careful, darling. Over use of magic is dangerous."  
"I know, but I was bored." I smirked at him, before pulling out another book. "Oh! I love Ted Hughes!"   
I could almost hear him rolling his eyes. Suddenly, I was flat on my back, on the bed, with him pressing me down. Now if only I could get rid of these pesky clothes. "I will tie you down if I have to. Isadora, listen. You do not have an unlimited supply of magic, even someone with your power. Your father takes magic as the price of talking to him, I assume you know that?" My eyes widened at his first few words and I began to think of all the other things he could do, alongside tying me down. Then, being sensible and intelligent, I slapped myself mentally and answered the second part of what he had just said,   
"Of course I know that. I'm his daughter, Loki. By the way, how is your daughter? I'd ask about your sons as well, but frankly they terrify me."   
"Hel is fine, as are the other four." He waved his hands and a large pitcher of ice water appeared. "Drink."   
I gave him one of my looks (I'm good at those). "I forgot." He sighed, looking rather bored, and to be honest, I didn't blame him. "Nothing you eat or drink here will in any way harm you, or tie you to me with any form of obligation, yadda yadda yadda."

So I drank. He then produced a massive plate of pasta and I ate that. I've got to say, Loki may be unhinged but he can really cook.  

He left me to his own devices and went into another room after a bit. I pulled some more books off the shelves and practised some Latin translation. Messalina and Silius, then Pliny's rant, sorry letter, about Ummidia. When Loki returned, I was somewhere in the depths of translating Dante's Inferno into German. I was bored out of my mind, can you tell?   
"I see you've made yourself at home." He leaned down to study some of the papers that i'd scattered over the floor."Do you really love translation or something?"   
"Who doesn't?" I leaned back from where I was settled. "I think I'm rested now, can I go?" He bowed and gestured to the door. The rest of his little flat was just as nice as his bedroom. It made mine look horrible. Perhaps I could persuade him to do my interior decorating. 

The first thing I did when I was back in my flat was take a shower. Then I plaited my hair back and changed out of yesterday's clothing. The clock told me it was 9:30. With my amazing maths, I worked out it would be around 4am in England. Slightly too early to call even my mother. So I cooked, read, played a game of scrabble against myself, did more translation, revised Norse myths and finished unpacking. By the time I was done, it was 1:39. Time to ring mummy.   
"Hello?" She picked up on the first ring.   
"Mum?"

The line went dead. I tried again and no one picked up.   
"Well, that was rude." I muttered to myself.  
"It looks like she doesn't want to talk." Loki was standing behind me, smirking. Did he always wear that smirk?   
"Piss off." I tried ringing Nightingale. Again, no answer. Then the same with the Merlin. Not even some junior member of the council. "Where is everyone?" I whispered to the silent room. There was no answer, except the sound of a mournful Chopin melody played on the piano from behind the door connecting my rooms to Loki's.     


	5. Illusions of intimacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm awful at writing chapters regularly, I'm so sorry! I promise I haven't given up on this story. This chapter has two points of views, as will probably the rest of the story. Enjoy!

I hated that Chopin. I hated my mother and the stupid councils I was tied to. Where were they? I told myself to breathe and collected my magic, which was pushing at my fingers, demanding I release it. Part of me was hoping Loki was an arsehole, I needed an excuse to let off a little steam. And if he wasn't, I could always use the company. Ah yes, the company of a evil megalomaniac. My dream friend. Those thoughts almost made me laugh, but part of me was still too tightly strung to even consider humour. Moving silently, I drifted across the room and pushed open the door that connected our rooms. His head moved slightly as he clocked my presence, but he said nothing and continued letting his long fingers drift across the piano keys. I stared at him and listened to the music he was creating, this beautiful, sweet, mournful melody that twisted something deep inside of me I didn't know existed.   
"Do you play?" His voice was soft as he continued to let his fingers across the notes. By now, I was sure he was playing something else, something of his own invention.   
"I tried when I was younger, but I never had the patience to practice for long periods of time. My mother thought, when I was really young, that it would help me control my magic."   
"Why did you need to control your magic?"   
I searched my mind to see if he was pushing me to answer. He wasn't. "Who doesn't need to control their magic?"   
"You didn't answer."   
"I don't need to answer you."   
His fingers stilled and he turned, a sly, half smile pulling at his lips. "If I had beaten your Avengers, you would have had no choice but to answer me."  
"You didn't beat them though." I held his green blue gaze. "You lost and now, you are here."   
He shrugged at that and stood up. "Why would I want to be anywhere else when I have such delightful company?"   
I rolled my eyes and moved over to his bookshelves, laughing at some of the choices there. Behind me, I heard him sigh. I ignored him and continued my quiet perusal of his hoard. I finally settled on a book to borrow and sat down on one of his armchairs, my magical senses on half alert by the main door of mine and his flats, to warn me if he attempted to escape. With that precaution set in place, I began to devour the novel.

_(Loki's POV)_

She sat there with her nose buried in The Goldfinch. An interesting choice- I idly wondered if she'd read The Secret History. Perhaps I'd read it to her, feel her soft body curled up beside me in a bed or an armchair. Licking my lips slightly at the idea of sharing a bed with the strange, fiery creature curled up in my apartment, I moved through to the kitchen and began making two cups of tea. Why had she come in here? Not that I was complaining. But still. I brought the tea in and placed a cup beside her with a mocking bow, before drifting through to her rooms and going through her books. Eye for an eye...

When I returned, she was sipping her tea. I settled down opposite her and began reading her book I'd chosen, A Court of Thorns and Roses. The second one in the series was battered and worn, as if she'd read it many times. We sat in companionable silence for several hours. When I looked up from my book- partly to mock her about the way the book held the memories of lust on a page where I met the character Rhysand- she was still curled up, still seeming to read. But she hadn't turned any pages since the last time I looked and tears were silently tumbling down her cheeks.   
"Isadora?"   
She looked up in shock and a wicked part of me revelled at seeing her like this, her heart clearly ripped apart. "Yes?" She muttered, her voice dry.   
"You're crying. Why?"   
She shrugged and looked down at the book again. "No reason."   
"There's clearly a reason, what is it?"   
"It's nothing." She snarled at me and a flash of light flew from her fingers. "Nothing a creature like you could help me with anyway."   
"What does that mean?" Anger flared inside me like it hadn't for months.   
"You're not even human, so don't pretend to want to help me. You're probably just doing it for your own selfish agenda."   
I froze in my seat. " _I'm_ not human, darling? That's rich coming from a demi-fae bitch masquerading as a witch."   
"I am _not_ demi-fae. Just because my father is not human, it does not mean I'm not."   
"Really? So what are you then? You're not a changeling and you're certainly not normal. So, sweet witch, what are you?"

She stiffened at the endearments and had suddenly every book in the room was hurling itself at me. I waved my hand to cast a shield and watched them fall to the floor. "You'd better pick those up, dearest Isadora."   
"Do not call me darling, sweet or dearest." She ignored the part about picking the books up.   
"Of course, angel. Or perhaps demon would be more appropriate?"  
She didn't bother with moving something in the room this time. Icy knives shot from her fingers, too fast for me to shield. But ice? For someone who had studied mythology, she was being ridiculously foolish. The daggers didn't harm me as they sank in.   
"Ice against me is like using fire against Lord Surt, Isa."

_(Isa's POV)_

I wasn't sure why I ever even considered Loki to be nice. Or if not nice, not a complete arse like he was. I growled at him and he laughed, shaking his head.   
"Did you just come in here for a fight?"   
"No." I lied, rolling my eyes at him. "As if I'd want to fight with you."   
"Lots of people want to fight with me. Now pick the books up. And don't lie."   
"I wasn't lying and pick the books up yourself."  
"I didn't knock them flying."

I shrugged and began walking back towards my room. Suddenly another Loki appeared in front of me, far too close. I inhaled his scent and felt my pulse speed up. As if he could sense it as well, he laughed.   
"Do you really crave intimacy so much?" The illusion in front of me brushed a finger across my lips and I felt myself wondering what it would be like if he kissed me, what would he taste like? My skin burned pink at the thought.   
"I don't crave intimacy."   
"I thought I told you not to lie."   
I turned back to face him. "Don't tell me what to do." As soon as I turned, the illusion began caressing my neck, playing with my hair. "Stop doing that."   
He lazily waved his hand and the figure was gone but now he was moving towards me. I moved backwards slowly, as one might do with a dangerous animal. He laughed again, that dark, low, dangerous laugh that sent thrills running through me. Suddenly I realised he'd backed me against a wall. He moved in until my body was brushing his, then he hovered his mouth over mine.   
"If you went downstairs now, Thor would be able to smell me on you from a mile off. He'd think I'd had my way with you in the bedroom."   
"That'll never happen."   
"Really? You weren't dreaming about it last night? And all those years ago, when you used to watch me while I slept?"   
"Shut up." He laughed at that and stared down at my mouth.   
"With pleasure." This was purred. Why could he purr? It was very annoying. before I could tell him this, his mouth captured mine in a brief, fleeting kiss, before, all too soon, he pulled away. "I'll see you soon, Isadora." He pulled away and vanished into his bedroom. Shaking, I moved back into my own apartment and sank onto the floor. What the hell was that? One part of my mind told me that he'd made me forget about the silence at the end of the phone, which I supposed was true. But that kiss... Why? Why did I think I would dream about it for the next few days, if not longer? He was evil, so why was I feeling this much desire for him?              


	6. A Field Trip (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isa needs to take a trip to London and of course, Loki wants to tag along.

You know, when my family goes underground for a few days, I consider it normal. My family are dysfunctional and slightly terrifying- my mother is a powerful witch with more power than the majority of the members of the Senior Council and my father is an ancient creature who's been around for longer than mankind. They disappear, but never for longer than a week. And it's never my mother who disappears. 

I rang everyone again. The Merlin, every member of the Senior Council, Nightingale, my mother. I even attempted to contact my father again, not that I expected a response. His idea of good parenting is talking to me once every six to nine years and spending the rest of the time pretending I don't exist. Finally, after a week, I decided to go find my mother. Unfortunately, Loki walked in while I was packing a bag- nothing too drastic, just a few knives and some basic supplies for witchcraft. Loki looked at me and my half-full bag.   
"Am I really so awful you want to run away?"   
I glared at him. "I need to go to London."   
"Ooh, an adventure!" He smirked at me. "I'm coming."   
"No, you're not." How could he even suggest such a thing, the bastard? He knew I'd been phoning everyone I knew, he must be able to guess I was going after them!  
"I'm coming, or Stark will know about your... adventure."   
I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. He'd tell Stark? As soon as he did, Stark would probably tell Dresden.   
"Fine." I glared at him. "Pack a small bag, we'll leave at 2 am."  
He gave me a small bow. "It would be my pleasure, Isadora." 

The way he purred my name sent a strange pulse of electricity through my veins. I hated him with every fiber of my being for that pulse, how dare he create these feelings I didn't want? I still felt his mouth on mine each time I was alone and when he spoke, the memory of the kiss played before me in slow motion. I watched him leave, shook my head in an attempt to clear it and returned to my packing. I had nine spare throwing knives and six in holders that I would attach to myself before I left. I also laid out the clothes I planned to travel in- plain black leggings, a black shirt, and baggy black jumper. Once I was in these and flitting through the shadows in the Nevernever, I would be basically invisible. Hopefully, Loki would also understand the importance of not being seen. Though, having seen some of the videos of him in Stuttgart and New York, I wouldn't bet on him understanding words like "low profile". Rolling my eyes, I returned to packing. A flask of coffee in a magic thermos that couldn't go cold, a packet of rich tea biscuits, a coat and my copy of A Darker Shade of Magic. I checked the clock. It was six in the evening- if I went to sleep now, I would get about seven hours of rest before I needed to leave. Remembering Loki's scathing words when I collapsed after overexertion, I decided sleeping and charging up my "magic batteries", as Nightingale had once called them, was the best idea. Without any more thought, I set an alarm for 1 am and fell asleep. 

_(Loki's POV)_

Isadora was surprisingly  _cute_ when she slept. It was a word I despised but it was the only way to describe her. With her alarm set beside her so close it might actually deafen her, a blanket spread over her, her blonde hair spread over the pillow, she looked sweet and defenseless. I couldn't see her eyes though, which was unfortunate. They were incredible, a strange, flickering amber, like a wolf's, or a cat's. They sparked with magic, brightness, intelligence, defiance- everything I loved. I watched her sleep from the shadows for several hours, enjoying the quiet sound of her breathing. When I decided my watching of her had wandered from reverential to creepy, I went back to my room and packed a small bag for myself. Like Isa, I preferred throwing knives to guns, however, I also had a bow and set of arrows I had "borrowed" from the fool who called himself Hawkeye. The rest of my bag was filled with books and the suit I had worn in Stuttgart. Then I showered and settled down, waiting for Isa to come and tell me it was time to leave. 

At midnight, I heard movement in the room next door. Isa's cat came through the door, small, black and fluffy. I looked at him, slightly jealous that he got to sleep in Isa's bed.   
"Here, kitty kitty..." I held out my fingers to him and he nosed them before turning away in disdain.   
"Fine then, be like that." I huffed and turned away from the cat- what was his name again? Byron, wasn't it? I smirked. Trust Isa to give her cat the name of a great Romantic poet. 

_(Isa's POV)_

At 1:00, my alarm blared. I slammed it off and sat up, wishing I didn't have to take Loki with me and therefore sneak out of Stark Tower in the middle of the night. I put out food for Byron and left a note for Scarlet, the pixie who hung around him, telling her to look after him while I was away. Then I dressed and plaited and knotted my hair up so it was out of the way. After that, all I needed to do was pick up my bag, check my knives were secure and slip through to Loki's room.   
"Are you ready to go?"  
"Yes." He stood up slowly and slung his own bag over his shoulder. "How are we getting there?"   
"We're traveling through the Nevernever. But first, we need to get out of Stark Tower. Stay with me and say nothing."   
Loki rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand. I swore and tried to pull my hand away.   
"Stop it, you stupid girl!"  
"Why? What are you doing?"   
"As long as I touch you, and as long as we're not in the Nevernever, we are invisible to all humans."   
"Oh." I stayed quiet and let him lead me out of the tower. We passed by various Avengers and none of them noticed us. I decided that I really needed to work on my veiling, though to be honest, I was quite happy to let him use up his power. As soon as we were out of the tower, I dropped his hand- I didn't want him thinking that I wanted to touch him or anything. 

We went down an alleyway and I murmured the incantation that allowed me to make a rip through the fabric of reality. While it appeared, I told Loki the rules.  
"Do not speak when we are in there. If we get captured by anything, let me talk to them, they'll know my father. If we get separated, do not lie and tell them who you are. Your status as a god should impress most creatures in there."   
Loki nodded, a strange, hungry look in his eyes. I recognized the look. He wanted trouble. Praying he didn't find it, I stepped through into the land of Faerie. 

We got to London with no trouble whatsoever and emerged in the back room of a antiquities shop. I motioned for Loki to be quiet as we moved towards the door before knocking on it five times. A grumpy old woman opened it and peered at me.   
"Isadora Edwards, is it?" Her accent was posh, old English and her hair was intricately braided and twisted up into a crown around her face.   
"Yes, ma'am." I bowed respectively towards her. "I have a guest."   
"Who?" She pulled a pair of glasses out of thin air and stared through them at Loki. "Who are you?"   
Loki cleared his throat. "My name is Lucky, madam, I'm a friend of Isadora."   
She looked at me and I shrugged. "It's the best you'll get out of him, ma'am. He's relatively safe."   
"Very well. Come through. Would you like some tea? Maybe a quick browse of my shop?"   
I shook my head quickly, having tried her tea- and seen her shop- before. "We really don't have time. Thank you so much for the offer though!" I pulled Loki out before he could peer at the shelves too thoroughly. "See you soon!" The door shut on her reply.

Loki looked very confused. From the outside, the shop looked fairly normal, with a chipped sign that read  _Antiquities of Westminster: Furniture, Jewellery and more!_ and dusty windows. The only strange thing about was the further you moved from it, the more it changed. Three steps from the door and it had turned into  _Westminster's Finest Cafe_ and, when you were down the street, it looked like a private house, with a small card in the window advertising something.   
"Who was that?" He turned to look at me. "She didn't seem human."   
"That would be because she wasn't. She's the spirit of Westminster Cathedral."  
"What?" Loki looked confused.   
"She is a sort of genius loci, specific to Westminster Cathedral and it's immediate three-mile radius. She controls all the pathways in and out of the Nevernever round here and ensures everything is running as it should."   
He nodded so I took it he understood. We walked down the street and turned the corner. 

Standing there was a White Court Vampire and two Dark Elves. 

       

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, once again it has taken me an awful amount of time to update this. I'm so sorry- the next update should be going live within a week. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Loki's POV isn't very much here but it will be much longer in the next chapter. Also, I'm really sorry about my writing, I hope the story is enjoyable enough to make up for it!


	7. A Field Trip (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Isadora continue to have a fun time in London, with tea, cakes, dogs, and vampires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More is coming, I'm sorry these chapters are so short. I hope you enjoy this next installment.

Loki and I both stared at them. The vampire and the elves stared back at us. We stayed in the strange tableau for several seconds before we moved. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I began to line up forma and runes that I could cast and almost instinctively cast Elhaz, protecting me from any immediate bodily harm.

The two Dark Elves drew long swords and began approaching us.   
"Look, it's a treat!" The first purred. He looked like a typical dark elf, tall with skin like an anaemic vampire and hair like a coal heap. The other had strange rainbow beads strung in his hair and attached to his robes.   
"A lovely treat, a prince and a witch!" Rainbow beads muttered back.   
Ignoring what they were saying- it became offensive after that part of the conversation- I instead focused on what language they were speaking.   
"Wait, why are you speaking English?" I blurted out, rather stupidly. At this point, the White Court Vampire moved towards us. 

He was stunning. Imagine a male model when they are airbrushed and photoshopped. Now forget that because, in comparison to that, this vampire was a god. He was as tall as Loki, if not taller with sable hair and grey eyes flecked with midnight blue. His skin looked like it had been cut from marble and the muscles you could see through his shirt were very distracting. 

"They are speaking English, lovely Isadora, because I do not speak the barbaric tongue of their kind."   
"That seems a little rude, as you are with them, sir."  
"They do not care."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes.”  
“Why are you waiting here for us? We’re not doing anything wrong.”  
“Perhaps I wanted a mortal toy.” His eyes roved my body and I fought the niggling urge at the back of my mind to strip all my clothes off and tell him he could do anything he wanted with me. I’m rather attached to my humanity and didn’t think I’d survive long with an incubus.  
“A mortal toy? What would being a mortal toy…entail?” I tried to sound interested.  
“Nothing. Just giving into all your darkest desires that you try to hide from.”  
Loki smirked. “Why would she need you to give you that when I can do it without sucking her soul from her body?”  
“Oh, are you two in a relationship? I had no idea. Prince, perhaps you’d like to watch while I devoured her?”  
I rolled my eyes. “Can we stop with the primal, male dominance thing? I’m not in a relationship with either of you nor do I plan to be at any point in the immediate future.”    
“Pity.” His eyes roved my body again, the bastard. I really, really hoped I could kill him- or at least hurt him- before Loki did. “Now, if you would be so kind, let us discontinue this conversation. It grows tiresome, especially as I know I won’t be receiving a meal at the end of it."   
"You sound like a posh twat, sir, if you don't mind my saying."   
He laughed, and the sound was like an angelic chorus. I got goosebumps from his laugh and I'm meant to be level-headed.  
"Thank you, Isadora."   
"You're very welcome. What is your name, sir, if you don't mind my knowing? It seems unfair that you know mine and I do not know yours."  
"Why, of course." He took my hand and before I could snatch it away, placed a kiss on it. "I am Maximilian Wraith."

   
The kiss on my hand made me wonder why I'd never slept with an incubus. Telling myself to snap out of it, I smile, slightly dazed, and mocked swooning. The air behind the elves flickered slightly. They were staring at me, completely oblivious. A clone of Loki suddenly appeared there and shoved a knife into the normal looking one’s heart. He let out a groan and collapsed, blood pooling on the pavement around him. Maximilian's grip on my hand tightened.   
"You treacherous bitch!" Spit flew from his lips and I smiled.   
"Of course, sir." The throwing knife I had slid into my other hand went through his thigh and I twisted it before pulling it out and kicking him in the face. Letting loose the burst of energy I had been storing in the back of my mind, I cast Jera and watched as roots burst up from below the pavement and began binding his feet down. He tried pulling against them, but they continued to grow until he couldn’t move his legs or hands. Then, for fun, and because he was a dick, I cast a sharp spell that would cause an intense burning in his nether regions and keep him occupied for the next few minutes. Once he was immobilized, I looked over to see how Loki was doing. He had pulled a staff from somewhere and was sparring with the rainbow elf, dancing in a strange orb of blue and white. The more I watched, the more I realised that he was using ice to stop the elf from coming near to him- the orb was actually tiny daggers of snow. As I watched, he sent all of these knives into the elf. The elf fell to the ground groaning. Behind me, Maximilian was swearing, though if in pain or anger, I couldn’t tell. I turned back to him and waved a hand, dismissing the spell in his crotch. Knowing we had gathered a relatively large crowd and hearing sirens in the distance, I looked towards Loki.  
“We need a veil.”

Three hours later, I was sat on Nightingale’s sofa, sipping Earl Grey from a floral china teacup while I watched the dog, Toby, beg treats off Loki. Maximilian was sat opposite us, hands and feet bound in a silver grey rope the Folly just happened to have in its basement that disabled lust spells. He was scowling and it was all I could do to not smile sweetly at him. Nightingale was pacing as he had been for the past few hours.  
“We need to contact these… Avengers. They don’t know you’re here?” I didn’t answer. The questions were rhetorical, Nightingale was just working things through in his mind. I stole another piece of cake a stretched, yawning.  
“Molly, is my room ready yet?”  
The creepy maid/fae/creature who worked as staff in the Folly nodded. She gestured upstairs and I smiled. “Excellent. Good night all.”  
“Good night, Isa.” Nightingale patted my head absentmindedly. “Loki, if you need Isa, she’s in the room next to you. My apprentice, Peter, will be getting home soon if you want to meet him.”  
Nodding towards him, I staggered off to bed. My room was the same as it had been in my childhood, and I felt a strange sense of nostalgia. Despite my exhaustion, it took me hours to fall asleep, I heard every movement of the strange house

Unfortunately, I was woken far too early, by the sound of the Avengers demanding to see Loki.   


	8. What the hell is going on?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isa sees the Avengers again. They learn a little about her past and she is forced to think about her siblings.

I sat bolt upright and listened. No that, wasn’t a dream, that was very definitely Thor’s voice. I could tell because of my highly trained ears and because I’d paid so much attention to him in the few days prior. The fact I could hear Mjolnir crashing round was a help as well. Swearing, I jumped out of bed to go see what disaster awaited me.

On the way down the stairs, I began to see what sort of disaster awaited me.

Shit, shit, shit.

Iron Man had his gun trained on Nightingale- who had somehow found time to put on a suit- and he looked a little too trigger happy. Black Widow and Hawkeye had their guns on a tall blond woman who was wearing a very skimpy nightgown and Black Widow was talking at her in Russian. A young man I assumed was Nightingale’s newest apprentice was standing at the other end of Captain America’s gun. Molly was being held up by the scruff of her dress by Thor and kept trying to snap at him. Loki was standing behind the group, laughing. He caught my eye and smirked. I swore again.

“What the hell do you all think you’re doing? Why do you all have guns pointed at my friends? Why have you woken us up at five am?” I marched down into the standoff. Behind me, I could feel the apprentice lining up a spell of some sort. I glared at him   
“If you’re about to shoot a fireball, don’t.” I turned back to the Avengers. “Have any of you ever heard of knocking and asking politely? Loki is behind you, he is perfectly safe and none of us have done anything wrong so put down the guns!” Slowly they all lowered them. Thor dropped Moly with a thud. At this point- because what else do you do when a group of superheroes invade your home and wave weaponry around? - Nightingale invited them to stay for breakfast.

An hour later, we were all dressed and sitting in the Lesser Breakfast Room. This is a reason I hate the Folly- it was built in the seventeenth century or something by some of the richest magicians in London and has two breakfast room, three dining rooms, a ballroom, a swimming pool (which you can’t use because someone- me- blew a crater in it early in their training) and more bedrooms than I could ever count. However, it does also have an armory, which is useful.

Natasha and Hawkeye were staring at the plates of food in front of them and mainly sticking to coffee. Thor was wolfing all the food he could find and I wondered if maybe Molly, for once, hadn’t cooked enough. Loki was sprawled over a couch with a cup of tea and a treatise on Newton’s magic. Stark was cautiously looking at the toaster and Steve was making himself some weird bacon and scrambled egg sandwich. I counted them again.   
“Where’s Bruce Banner?”   
“This wasn’t high priority, so we didn’t want him to come.” Steve told me, before returning back to the hellish hybrid on his plate. I watched, simultaneously amazed and disgusted as he slathered mustard and ketchup on it before eating it. Wondering if I’d be able to stomach breakfast after that, I poured myself some coffee and picked up some toast before moving over to sit beside Loki. He shifted so I could have more space- what a gentleman!- and then informed me that if I dropped a single crumb on his book, he would make me suffer for all eternity. Slightly annoyed he thought I’d damage a book, I flicked my middle finger at him before returning to my toast. He rolled his eyes.

The Avengers convened in one of the larger rooms in the Folly after breakfast, dragging me and Loki with them. Nightingale followed.  
“What is this place?” This was Hawkeye.   
“The Folly is the MET’s branch that deals with issues the public might not want to consider.” How the hell did Nightingale make his voice so calming? Did he practice in front of a mirror?  
“Including?”   
“Vampires, sorcerers who breach the peace…” He looked to me for guidance.   
“I remember several poltergeists, a large number of rogue wizards and that weirdo who was feeding children magic that slowly turned them insane.” I shivered. That had been when I was 14 and I still had nightmares about it.   
“What?” Natasha looked horrified. “Someone was feeding children magic?”   
Nightingale nodded. “Oh yes. That was one of the strangest cases we’ve faced- a man who thought he was Mr Jekyll was trying to experiment on children to discover what percentage of magic was needed before they became Hyde. He overdid it the majority of times and the children went insane and killed themselves- or each other. Some turned to cannibalism.”   
All the Avengers were staring at us now. “What did you do?” Tony asked.   
“Isa burnt a hole in the wall of the room with the children in, sent a sleep spell over them then went on to find the man doing it. It was her first major battle- she fought well and had him disabled when help finally arrived, the children were removed and the man taken to an asylum for the magically gifted. He’s still there- our records assure us he’s getting better, though he claims to see the ghosts of the children. It’s entirely possible I suppose that he does see some ghosts.”   
“And that’s your normal sort of case?” Hawkeye looked slightly sick.   
“That was a particularly bad one-though they are getting more common.”  
“How old were you, when you stopped this man?” Natasha was staring at me, a strange look of kinship in her eyes.   
“Fourteen. I hadn’t told anyone I was going to go hunt him down- it’s one of the reasons help took so long to arrive.”  
The Avengers backed off slightly. Loki looked… was that pride?   
“At fourteen you faced down and fought off a dark sorcerer? That’s incredible!”   
I smiled, rather awkwardly. “Thank you.”

  
I was beginning to feel like I had killed the conversation with that story. We stood there in awkward silence for several long minutes, until Thor finally spoke.   
“Why is both the building and the branch called the Folly?”   
“God knows,” Nightingale shrugged. “Newton built and founded the place, he meant it as a place of learning. It merged with the police later and kept the name.”    
“Newton? Issac Newton?” This was Thor again.   
“Yes.”   
I sensed that they were cooling off the topic of the Folly. I was right- they turned onto me and Loki next.   
“What were you thinking, persuading Isa to run without telling us, Reindeer Games?” Tony was glaring at Loki. Inwardly, I sighed.   
“Tony, it wasn’t Loki’s fault. I needed to come to London and decided it would be safest if he came with me.”   
“Why did you need to come to London?” Natasha was looking at me suspiciously.   
“My mother has gone missing and normally, knowing the creatures she works with, that’s a bad sign.”  
Nightingale turned pale. “Augusta has gone missing? Does your father know?”   
I shrugged. “I think so.”  
“He must know where she is, he always does.” He looked troubled. “What about Liv? Or Julius? Have you bothered speaking to your siblings since she vanished?” I tensed. I always do when my siblings are mentioned- especially my twin.   
“Nightingale, you should know better than to call her Liv. She wants to always be called Livilla now, didn’t you here?”   
He glared at me- this is a standard reaction from Nightingale when I talk. “You need to speak to them. Julius at least. I know how you and Liv feel about each other, but you should get on well enough with him.”  
I cringed, thinking about Julius. “He’s in Rome at the moment, I think.”   
“Contact him as soon as you can.”   
I nodded, feeling slightly sick as I thought about Liv and Julius. Around me, everyone began moving, so I sank further back and tried to relax, hoping the room would be left to me in a few minutes.

I was almost right. Everyone- except Loki- had left within a few minutes. He was laughing, almost inaudibly.   
“Your sister is Livilla Edwards? I can’t believe it. You don’t have the same father I assume?”   
I sighed. “Yes, she’s my sister, yes we have the same father.”   
He looked surprised. “She went down a different route to you…” He left, and finally I was alone with the memories of my siblings.

You know, most people think their family is awful, but mine… They’re a special brand of twisted.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and get another chapter detailing the reasons behind Isa's dislike of her siblings up later this week (Hopefully I cant get into the habit of posting a chapter a week). I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you so much for reading!


	9. Family Issues and Stakeouts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isa remembers her sister and her and Loki begin to hunt for her.

Let's start with my sister. I haven't seen her for four years now. Liv, or Livilla as she prefers to be known, was born four minutes after me. We were great friends until we hit the age of about seven, and our magical powers came through. From the offset, it was clear we had different powers. I specialize in the manipulation of elements like fire, water, and gravity and am quite talented at mind spells. Livilla, on the other hand, is insanely good at making things grow. However, she never made nice things, like plants grow. When we were 12, she managed to make a new strain of super-resistant bubonic plague hit our family. At 15, she manipulated shadows which killed a boyfriend who had betrayed her and slept with her best friend. That was the first time I saw her in three years, at the White Council court case. She was almost executed but vanished at the last moment, no one knew where. 

Then, three years ago, she appeared again, wreaking havoc in Russia. She caused various unnatural events before vanishing, supposedly under the protection of our father. However, upon questioning, it seemed he had nothing to do with it. Suddenly, not long after this, strange events occurred in Edinburgh, Rome, and Athens. Nothing major or life-threatening, just subtle shiftings in the magical barriers that protected the country. Strange creatures that don't exist- even in the magical world- were spotted. Nightingale contacted me at this point, worried Livilla was working with a man in London known as "The Faceless Man", who was creating chimera and causing various magical issues to pop up. My brother, Julius, summoned me to Rome, where sightings of a strange woman with amber eyes and golden hair had been spotted deep in the catacombs. When we went searching, we found nothing but seemingly ancient paintings, depicting a woman who bore a startling resemblance to Liv, and by extension, me. Suddenly paintings and statues that looked too much like the two of us were appearing everywhere.

_(Loki’s POV)_

I watched Isa from the corner of the room. Her brow was crinkling in distress and she muttered quietly under her breath. I moved closer slowly and could hear her mutter “Bitch” repeatedly.   
“Are you okay?” I appeared in front of her suddenly. She screamed and fell off the chair. I laughed softly and offered her my hand. “Do you need any help?”   
“No.” She scowled. “Go away.”   
“I’m not going away. Do you want my help?”   
“Your help doing what?”   
“Capturing your sister.” I smirked at her. “Come on darling, you need me to help you. It’s not as if you’re going to manage it yourself.”   
“Don’t call me darling, you freak! I can do it myself!” She was glaring up at me, standing so close I could smell the honey and vanilla that she used to wash her hair. I took a deep breath to clear my head.   
“I know how to find your sister.”   


We were sat inside the car in silence. Isa had brought a book from Nightingale’s library with her and I was watching a new TV show I had discovered on the wonderful thing the Midgardians called Netflix. Getting slightly bored, I shifted in my seat.   
“None of the spells have gone off?”   
“Nope.” Isa sighed. “Stop asking me that.”   
“I haven’t asked it that many times.”  
“Yes, you have. None of the spells have gone off in the last five minutes.”   
“Why do we have to continue sitting in this wreck of a car?”   
“It’s the only one that doesn’t blow up with me in it. Now shut up, I’m learning the truth about Emery Staines.”   
I looked at the book she was reading. The Luminaries. Mentally, I added it to my TBR list.

We sat in silence for another few hours. Dusk began to fall, and Isa began yawning.   
“We are going and getting rooms in a hotel. The spells will work there, and you are exhausted.” Once again, I saw her lovely scowl.   
“Fine.”   
We found an old, rundown hotel that probably wouldn’t mind hearing loud bangs. Unfortunately, there was a problem.   


“What do you mean, there is only ONE ROOM LEFT?” Isa was livid. Sparks were flickering through her hair. I leaned over her.   
“We will take the room. Sweetheart, calm down.”    
“Don’t call me sweetheart, you fucking arsehole!”   
I sighed and took the key. “Thank you.” I nodded to the man behind the desk. “Sorry about her.” We went upstairs and pushed open the creaky door.   
“Oh, for fucks sake.” Isa stared at the double bed.     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea when I'll get the chapter up, but I have a plan for it (yes it's going to be cheesy, as you can probably guess from the ending of this one.) I'm really sorry about all the waits, I have so many other things on at the moment. Thank you so much for reading!


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